EAST WINDSOR — The public works director said yesterday that his department will need more funding for expenses tied to Hurricane Sandy, but Mayor Janice Mironov said she was not ready to endorse higher spending.

Budget requests from public works and other departments were discussed during a council meeting last night ahead of the release of the township’s next budget, which is expected sometime after mid-March. The 2012 budget was just more than $20 million, and a number of department representatives said their requests would be similar to the current year.

However, public works, which was tasked with hurricane cleanup, will need more money in the coming budget year and is in the process of determining how much more, director Bill Askenstedt said.

Employees ran trucks and machinery for 16 hours a day for the last three months of the year, Askenstedt said. As a result, the equipment will need to have parts replaced, which will be an added expense.

Askenstedt said the department also is anticipating a 4-percent rate increase from power provider JCP&L to cover storm-related costs, though no rate increase has been announced yet.

Mironov said she did not want to approve higher expenditures for power until the size of the rate increase was clearer.

“For any utility at this point that is looking at rate increases, in reviewing the request, I think there needs to be very clear parameters for local officials,” she said.

Mironov also said she would not support an extra $5,000 the public works department is requesting for additional phone lines.

Township rescue squads and fire departments also presented budget requests last night, while police and court officials will present during a meeting on March 5, Mironov said.

“The budget book is something we have worked on for a number of years and in many cases we have asked many questions from these departments,” Mironov said. “We literally go through every page, every line item, every count.”

She noted that the state has not yet announced figures for municipal aid and other spending that could affect the township. Under state law the township must submit its budget by April 26, she said.

“I just want to stress there is nothing of finality that comes out of the sessions at this point,” Mironov said. “We can always go back and make changes.”